35 + Gross Motor Skills Activities for Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers

​Gross motor skills are vital for a child’s overall development, enabling them to perform everyday activities such as walking, running, and jumping. These skills involve the coordination of large muscle groups and lay the foundation for more complex movements and physical activities. Engaging children in activities that promote gross motor development not only enhances their physical abilities but also supports cognitive and social growth. In this article, we explore a variety of enjoyable and effective activities designed to strengthen gross motor skills in children, fostering their confidence and encouraging an active lifestyle.

What are Gross Motor Skills?

Gross motor skills refer to the movement of large muscle groups, which enable us to walk, run, or jump. The muscles involved here are those of the arms, legs, and torso. For children, gross motor skills are a very crucial part of their growth and development. It helps them build confidence and physical strength and helps their health overall. Children become more adventurous and active when their gross motor skills develop well.

Age-Based Gross Motor Skill Activities

Here are some age-wise motor skill activities for your children; you can use this guide to help them play, learn, and develop at the same time.

Gross Motor Skill Activities for Infants (0-12 Months)

• Balloon and Bubble Play: Hold a balloon or blow bubbles a little above your child’s reach and let them stretch out and try to reach them. This will improve their muscle strength in the arms as they stretch and improve their hand-eye coordination.
• Water Play: Let your child move their hands and legs and splash around in a shallow water pool, under supervision. This activity is good as a sensory experience and improves the muscle strength in their arms and legs.
• Supported Walks: Hold your little one in a standing position and let them take small steps with your support. This allows weight shifting, improves their leg muscles, and helps them learn how to balance.
• Soft Tunnels for crawling: setting up soft tunnel play areas where babies can crawl through is excellent for core strength. It helps them explore, be curious, and improve their coordination.
• Crawling Over Cushions: You can arrange cushions on the floor and let your baby crawl over them. This helps develop their muscle strength and gets them used to adjusting to different surfaces.
• Reaching for Hanging Toys: Place lightweight toys above your baby’s head and let them reach and grasp. This will help them develop upper body strength as they reach and pull.
• Rolling a Ball: Roll a ball towards your child and let them roll it back to you. Rolling the ball back and forth helps your baby develop coordination and builds their movement.
• Supported Standing and Cruising: With your support on a table, let your baby stand and move sideways. This gives strength to their legs, teaches them balance, and gives them confidence.

Give your child a head start! Discover how KLAY Preschools and Daycare can further enhance your child’s development with our dynamic gross motor skill programs. Learn more about KLAY’s Foundational Development Program.

Gross Motor Skill Activities for Toddlers (1-3 Years)

Toddlers like to explore and test their physical abilities. These activities are great for balance, muscle strength, and coordination in a fun and age-appropriate way.

• Dancing: Turn on some music and dance together. Dance is perfect for managing hand-eye coordination and learning balance as they move to the rhythm.
• Throwing and Catching: Use a lightweight ball for simple throwing and catching. This activity also helps them learn hand-eye coordination and helps them learn control as they learn to track a moving object.
• Tricycles and Scooters: Riding these helps your child build coordination, balance, and leg strength. They will develop motor skills and gain a sense of independence at the same time.
• Playground Time: You must take your baby to the playground, where they can climb, swing, and slide. These activities encourage muscle engagement and improve their strength and agility.
• Homemade Obstacle Course: You can arrange a simple obstacle course at home using toys or furniture and let your child find their way through it as they move, this will improve their confidence, introduce them to problem-solving, and help their muscles as they stretch differently each time.
• Chalk Hopscotch: Draw a hopscotch grid with chalk outdoors and teach your child the game. As they jump from square to square, they will improve their agility and strength, and they will learn to land with control.
• Pass the Parcel: Playing this game encourages movement, and coordination, and teaches them sharing. It is a good way to teach them how to play turn-by-turn with others.
• Balloon Toss: Tossing a balloon back and forth is a good way to learn hand-eye coordination. It helps them learn to catch and throw soft objects.
• The Floor is Lava: Arrange pillows and cushions and let your child jump over them considering them as lava, this is an imaginative way to play games and teaches them how to balance.
• Throwing Paper Planes: Teach your baby to make paper planes and toss them around, this improves their arm strength and teaches them to aim and throw.
• Dancing with Scarves: Give your toddler a scarf as they dance, just to wave around. If you add a prop to their dance, it encourages them to coordinate with the prop, balance with it and it gives them sensory exploration as well.
• Kicking a Ball: Help them practice kicking a ball to a target, this will give their leg muscles the strength they need. It will also teach them coordination and teach them to aim in a particular direction.
• Animal Walks: Teach them animal-inspired walks like the bear crawl or the crab walk. These exercises engage different muscles in their body and develop their body control.
• Building with Large Blocks: Encourage your child to stack and build with large blocks. It teaches them spatial concepts and works on their building skills.
• Rolling Down Gentle Steps: Find a safe, gentle slope in a grassy area for your toddler to roll from. It helps them learn how to roll and become confident with different movements.
• Water Balloon Toss: A water balloon toss is a gentle but fun way to teach them to aim, throw, coordinate, and develop their motor skills.
• Jumping off Low Steps: Encourage your toddler to jump off low steps under your supervision. This activity helps them build strength and develop confidence.

Looking for a nurturing and active environment while you work? KLAY Daycare provides engaging opportunities for children to develop their gross motor skills through play and structured activities. Explore KLAY Daycare options.

Gross Motor Skill Activities for Preschoolers (3-5 Years)

Preschoolers are ready for more challenging activities, that build their strength, help them with their coordination, and boost their confidence as they approach school age.

• Trampolines: Jumping on a trampoline under supervision is a fun way to learn to balance and adjust their jumps. It gives the kids leg strength and confidence on their body movements.
• Gardening: Let your preschooler help you with simple gardening tasks. Let them dig and plant. These activities improve hand-eye coordination and work on their larger muscles.
• Monkey Bars: Climbing on monkey bars is a great way to build upper body strength. Kids practice gripping, and their arms become stronger.
• Skipping Rope: Skipping with a rope is an excellent introduction to rhythm and jumping with coordination. It gives them strength and helps them learn timing and balance as the activity requires it. This makes it a good gross motor skill builder.
• Hula Hooping: Learning to hula hoop teaches them core strength and balance. It helps them improve endurance and body control.
• Tightrope Walking: Draw a line on the floor and tell your child to walk on it straight, like it is a tightrope. This helps them focus, and learn control and balance.
• Musical Chairs: This game teaches your child quick reflexes and awareness of their surroundings. Your child will learn how to move quickly and learn spatial skills as they have along with learning.
• Freeze Dance: In the freeze dance, kids have to freeze when the music stops. This game teaches them coordination, improves their listening skills, and helps them control their body movement accordingly on cue.
• Puzzle Scavenger Hunt: Hide puzzle pieces around the room, and your child has to find and assemble them. This combines physical movement along with problem-solving, helping kids develop both.
• Number Maze: Draw numbers on the ground in a pattern and let your child jump from one number to the other. This activity helps them recognise numbers, improve balance, and teach them to hop and land confidently.
• Tag: A classic game of tag teaches them agility, improves their reflexes, and makes them move quickly. This develops their speed and overall fitness.
• Balance Bikes: Riding a balance bike teaches children to balance on 2 wheels. It prepares them for a regular bike.

Incorporating fun activities that develop your child’s gross motor skills in their daily routine supports their physical development. It teaches them balance and coordination and strengthens their muscles. It is a healthy way to encourage movement and skill-building. You can try these easy and safe activities at home with supervision and watch as your child develops new skills every day. Keep watching our space for more such tips.

Transform Play into Power with KLAY Preschools and Daycare

At KLAY Preschools and Daycare, we don’t just let kids run wild—we turn movement into mastery. Our dynamic gross motor skill programs are engineered to build strength, coordination, and fearless confidence. Picture your child conquering mini obstacle courses, kicking soccer goals in our safe play zones, dancing to rhythm games that boost balance, or scaling age-appropriate climbing walls under the guidance of our trained educators. Every leap, throw, and sprint is part of our curated curriculum, KLAY ensures your child’s energy fuels their growth.

Ready to see their physical potential unleashed? Come visit KLAY Preschool and Daycare and see firsthand how our innovative programs support your child’s growth and development. Book a tour today!